LSU Scores Six Unanswered Runs to Claim Series Finale From Baseball

COLUMBIA, Mo. – LSU scored six unanswered runs to overcome an early deficit, riding five innings of one-hit relief from Griffin Herring to a 6-2 victory over University of Missouri baseball Sunday afternoon in the deciding game of the two clubs’ Southeastern Conference series at Taylor Stadium.

Herring (3-0) allowed just two baserunners and struck out eight hitters, combining with starting pitcher Nate Ackenhausen to fan 13 Mizzou hitters for the game.

Despite a strong start from Ian Lohse, Mizzou came up short in its bid to capture its second-straight home conference series. Lohse held LSU scoreless on one hit through the first three innings in his first SEC start of the season, but the visitors cashed in against the MU bullpen, scoring all six of their runs against three Tigers relievers.

Trailing 2-0 with two out in the fifth, LSU (25-16, 5-13 SEC) evened the score on Paxton Kling’s two-run double, then plated the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk in the sixth. The visiting Tigers rode the mid-game momentum swing to a strong finish, scoring in each of the final five frames to pull away and capture their first SEC series win of the season.

Given the lead, Herring (3-0) slammed the door shut on Mizzou (18-23, 6-12 SEC), piggybacking Ackenhausen’s 4.0 innings in holding Mizzou to just one hit over the final six innings. After Mizzou scored its only two runs of the day on Jackson Lovich’s one-out single in the third, Ackenhausen retired five hitters in a row to finish his outing. Herring picked up where he left off, striking out the side in the fifth.

LSU seized the lead for good in the sixth, after Tommy White singled and Jared Jones doubled to ignite the threat. With one out, Mizzou elected to intentionally walk Hayden Travinski to load the bases, but Michael Braswell coaxed ball four from Bryce Mayer (1-5) to force home the go-ahead run.

The visitors added two-out tallies in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to help seal the outcome. Ashton Larson belted a seventh-inning home run, before Braswell drove in a run with a double to right-center the following inning. A leadoff walk to Alex Milazzo in the ninth led to the final run of the afternoon, as a two-out MU defensive miscue allowed the sixth Tigers run to cross the plate.

Herring wouldn’t need the extra support, as the left-hander retired the side in order in the eighth and ninth innings, dispatching 12 of the final 13 hitters of the game.

Jones paced the Tigers with a 2-for-5 afternoon to complement Braswell’s two key RBIs, and Milazzo scored a pair of runs while reaching base safely in three of his four trips to the plate.

Brock Daniels led the Mizzou attack, finishing the day 2-for-4 to extend his career-best hitting streak to nine-straight games.

TIGER NOTEBOOK

• In his first SEC start since March 25, 2023 at South Carolina, Lohse matched a season high with his 3.0 innings.
• Daniels logged his eighth multi-hit performance of the season—and his seventh in the month of April.
• Over the course of his nine-game hit streak, Daniels is batting .417 (15-for-36); in 13 games this month, he is hitting .420 (21-for-50) with three homers and 19 RBIs.
• MU fell to 4-20 all-time vs. LSU, including a 3-9 mark at Taylor Stadium.

UP NEXT
The Tigers will host Missouri State Tuesday (April 23) evening for a 6 p.m. (CDT) nonconference contest at Taylor Stadium. Mizzou single-game tickets are on sale now via phone at 1-800-CAT-PAWS or by visiting MUTigers.com/Tickets.

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